


The Price Of Everything; The Value Of Nothing

by SusieBeeca



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Abuse, Backstory, Clever Pearl, F/F, Forbidden Love, Fusion, Gen, Homeworld is Horrible, I don't know why I wrote this, Illustrations, Implied Sexual Abuse, Off-Color Gems, Off-screen Rhodonite - Freeform, Padparadscha (mentioned), Villain PoV, illustrated fanfic, star-crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 12:32:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14748947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SusieBeeca/pseuds/SusieBeeca
Summary: Morganite is frustrated. The only thing worse than having a belligerent Ruby is having a fussy Pearl... or so she thinks.Companion piece (not technically a sequel) toJust In Time.





	The Price Of Everything; The Value Of Nothing

 

“…and one decalitre of sulfuric acid,” Morganite finished without deigning to look back at the gem she was addressing. “They sell it by litre, but it’s more cost-effective this way. Do not accept any carrying-cases.” She clicked the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of her document, and lifted her head so she could get a slight glimpse of her Pearl out of the corner of her eye. “Any questions?”

Pearl opened her mouth, then closed it again. It was obvious from her flickering eyes that she wasn’t sure how to respond. “Er… would you please see it in your grace to repeat that list, my Morganite?”

Morganite sighed as she flicked back over her list. This was getting frustrating, and she was beginning to regret her friend’s gift. She’d assumed that having a Pearl would be a lovely, leisurely experience, but this one was proving to be difficult. “I will repeat the list once more, and if you do not remember it, then things will become _very_ unpleasant around here.”

She nodded, paling. “Yes, y… my Morganite. I understand.”

She repeated the list, then began to assign the needed credits into a chip for Pearl to carry. She hoped that simple task wouldn’t be as hard for this Pearl as it had been for the last. Sighing again, she pressed the ‘eject’ button to summon the chip and briefly fingered it as the thought over the past quadrant she’d been in possession of her new servant. It was slightly eyebrow-raising for someone of her status to have a second-hand Pearl, but Padparadscha had been insistent she take the gift. Morganite, well-known for her frugality, had grudgingly accepted the Pearl with the mindset that it would be cheaper than buying a replacement for the one she broke. And yet… sometimes even ‘free’ didn’t seem to be worth it. This Pearl _fussed._ She bit her nails, she was easily distracted, and she asked too many questions. By the Diamonds, she could barely remember a simple shopping list! What was Padparadscha thinking?!

“Take this,” she said distractedly as she handed over the payment chip. “It contains the coordinates for the shops you need to visit. Do not let anyone oversell you.” Morganite eyed her reproachfully as she slipped the chip inside her gem with shaking hands. “You have permission to haggle.”

“Do I have permission to speak freely?”

“To the shop owners, yes,” she grumbled as she returned to her console.

“Not… to you?”

Morganite’s shoulders slumped. Stars, she could already hear the tick-tack noise of the damned thing biting her nails again! “What is it?”

“I…” The Pearl had a hand on her gem, which was still glowing slightly from where she’d inserted the chip. “I fear… that… the…. the…”

“Spit it out, Pearl! I have things to do!”

“The area around the bazaar is very dangerous!” she blurted. “An unescorted Pearl could be stolen, or---or worse!”

She let out a loud scoff and finally whirled around in her chair. “Oh, really. You think you’re pretty enough for something like that to happen to you? And stop that,” she added with a snap of her fingers. “Stop that right now. It’s a filthy habit.”

The hand she had at her mouth fluttered down. “Y… yes, my Morganite, but…”

She rose to her feet and clenched her jaws when she saw her Pearl flinch. “No buts. I am tired of this attitude of yours. Padparadscha may have been lenient with you, but I am no such gem.” She shook her head when she recalled the time this Pearl had called her former owner by her actual _name_ , not her title. Padparadscha had stammered out an assurance that she’d get her whipped for it, but Morganite had never seen proof. That was the problem with her---never followed through with her plans. The little Sapphire had been flighty at best, and now look what her casual attitude had done to a perfectly useable Pearl! “You will go to the bazaar and acquire my goods, then return. You will do this alone.”

She shifted from one foot to the other. “And if I don’t return, you’ll buy another Pearl?”

Morganite thinned her lips. So the Pearl had picked up on how much of a tightwad she was. Dammit. “I do not need another Pearl.”

“I-I see.” She turned her head and lifted her hand, but caught herself before she began chewing on her nails again. “I’m sure Her Clarity will understand. As will the other elites.”

Her slightly-crooked spine stiffened, and, huffing, Morganite fingered her scarf. What a brat! What an absolute brat! To play with her emotions like that---and about her only friend, to boot! Appalling.

But… she had to admit it was a good point. It was somewhat known now that she had acquired a Pearl from the Sapphire, and it would be seen as a blemish on her reputation as an intelligent elite to lose her so carelessly. The Pearl was a rare type, and her value would likely increase in the coming years with the nacre shortage; a gem of good business would be foolhardy to let an asset go to waste like that. Would investors trust her again?  
Besides, Padparadscha might indeed be upset, and she had a tendency to pout.

Hm…

“Fine. I will have Ruby escort you, but this is the last time.” She leaned down and began to fuss with the ruff at the Pearl’s shoulders to hide her slight fluster.

She brightened considerably. “Thank you, my Morganite! It’s very generous of you!”

“I know it is, you don’t have to tell me.”

A tiny button on her desk was enough to summon the Ruby, but, oddly, after she arrived at the door, her salute broke slightly when her eyes snapped over to the Pearl. Morganite shook her head and clapped once, twice---that was once too many---to get her attention. “Ruby. I’m over here.” Talking over her fumbled response, she went on: “Pearl has an assignment, and you are to escort her. Do not speak to the shopkeeps, unless they become too forward with her, or if they haggle too aggressively. Is that understood?”

She was not supposed to smile while saluting, but Morganite decided to forgive her for it this time. “Oh, oh yeah. Of course, my Morganite.”

“Good. Do not disappoint me.”

As Morganite took to her chair again, she spent a moment flicking her scarf back over her shoulder to conceal what she was doing on her screen. It only took a second to program the command, but she was beginning to have her doubts, and didn’t want her business to be seen. The Ruby was obviously too stupid to put two and two together, but the Pearl was starting to demonstrate some unsettling signs of intelligence. “You have until a fifteenth-rotation to return. I am timing it.”

She waved them away, but a niggling doubt pricked at her, and she glanced up to watch them go.

Her mouth fell open.

The Ruby was holding the door open for the Pearl! And they were both smiling at each other! She even saw the Pearl reach down for the Ruby’s hand before the door closed.

Her fingers were curling into fists when she returned to her work, but she had to spend a moment to calm her steaming temper. _“Damnation,”_ she hissed. If there was fraternization going on amongst her gems, she was going to find out about it and nip it in the bud. Such a thing could not be tolerated; it was crass at best, unprofessional at worst. Luckily, the tracking program she’d just installed would give her an idea of where the Pearl was headed. She would have dearly loved to hear their conversation, but audio recording software was an extra three credits, and, to be honest, she loved _those_ much more than satisfying her idle curiosity.  
Morganite’s heel rapped against the worn, patchy rug as she tried to re-focus on the screen. It droned out readouts of the status of her stocks and bonds, but there was an additional window near the top that showed the Pearl’s location with a silent, pulsing dot. She had a feeling the Ruby might either intend to take her somewhere and have a little fun, or worse yet, line her own pockets in exchange for the fun of others. The very thought made Morganite grind her molars; upon receiving the gift, she’d inspected the Pearl herself, and was pleased to find her veil intact. Though she’d had every right, Padparadscha apparently hadn’t taken that from her, and in this day and age, that added greatly to the value of a Pearl. For a Ruby to ruin future resell potential was a fireable offense.

_No,_ Morganite thought as she eyed the tracking signal, _I don’t care how much a Ruby could be worth---that warrants a shattering._

She rubbed her temples. Why must things be so complicated? She was an old gem, an Era One, and longed to return to the time she remembered, when things were in order, when things made sense. With the emergence of the final Diamond and the ushering in of Era Two, things had all gone to hell. She’d even heard reports of a two-headed freak being allowed to escape the chipper! If the new ways had made her hard, she didn’t care---she would become as cruel as needed to survive.

That’s when the console switched from pale peach to red, and the alarm blared.

Morganite opened her eyes, not realizing they’d been closed, and when she saw what was gibbering across her screen in frantic repetition, she felt everything freeze up inside her.

It was _so_ much worse than anything she could have expected.

**WARNING! ILLEGAL FUSION DETECTED!**

**Author's Note:**

> I almost forgot I wrote this little glimpse into Rhodonite's past! I have another piece in mind to show her fusion from Ruby and Pearl's perspectives, which will be much sweeter and fluffier than this.
> 
> Morganite was tricky to write, but ended up being a lot of fun. Yes, she was HEAVILY inspired by a certain Dickens character. A miserable old miser who mistreats employees and only has one friend... can you guess who? ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
